By Grockle
August 10 2025

The third game of the 50 over league phase pits an undefeated Someret against a yet to play Lancashire after their first game was abandonded without a ball against Notrthamptonshire.  We look to rest Ben Green and Jake Ball while giving Kian Roberts his first game in a first team shirt.  Lancashire have won the toss and they will bowl first.

Metro Game 3 v Lancashire @ Taunton Sunday 10 August 2025

A succesful start to Metrobank 50 for Somerset see's an undefeated home side welcome a yet to bowl a ball in anger Lancashire to the County Ground on this Sumnday.  Lancashire have won the toss and will bowl first and the weather suggests they will get their second game off and running at 11 this morning.

Somerset have made 2 changes to the Durham side on Friday in their team of;

Lammonby, Vaughan, Goldsworthy, Rew J (c & wk), Rew T, Thomas, Roberts, Hill, Davey, Ogborne, Langridge

It is quite an adventureous side as the bowling attack has brought back the experience of Josh Davey but not the extra kick of Migael Pretorius while resting two players who have been impressive in the first two games in Ben Green and Jake Ball.  Kian Roberts the young left handed all rounder comes into the middle order and JT Langridge joins Ogborne (who produced his first professional 5-fer on Friday) and Davey in the bowling attack. 

So with some trepidation but also encouragement that we are 'blooding' our youngsters early in the 2025 competition we look to hold Lancashire in the first half of this game while then expecting our front end to produce the batting performances that have impressed in the first two games to push us over the line. 

Already there is a real 'buzz' about the prowess of Thomas Rew with the bat.  His brother is already a set member of the Somerset side but the younger version has certainly impressed with his 51 and 84 in the first two games and especially in the Durham game on Friday where he marshalled the lineup to a very mature victory.

The livestream will be up because none of these games are being covered by SKY (colour me shocked) Presently there is no information about whether the BBC will be covering this game today - they are not universally commentating on all the games in the Metrobank.  they say it is because of the contract that the ECB has negotiated but however you look at it, it is another strategy by the controlling factors in UK domestic cricket to marginallise anything domestic taking place at the same time as 'Franchise Fun Month'.  I know some people who access the livestreams are not as impressed with the audio coverage offered by the teams at some counties .  It's nice to know that BBC Sounds is able to provide cricket commentary on other things though!! Presently there IS commentary on the Australia v South Africa T20 somewhere int he Southern Hemisphere - so that's alright then!!  No BBC commentary on this game then.  The other 2 BBC Sports Extra channels are taken up by Women's Franchise game at Trent bridge and Derbyshire V Nottinghamshire, also in the East Midlands... Ho Hum

Tom Lammonby and Archie Vaughan take the field at 11am to face the first over from Bailey from the Marcus Trescothick (MT) Pavilion end and Lammonby gets off the mark with a four to the Caddyshack.  We finish with 5 as the older bat steals the strike to also face Balderson from the River end.  This is not a good move as he drives at the first ball and gets a leading edge to Bohannon at bacjkward square and he goes for 5.  Lewis Goldsworthy is in early but does not get off the mark as the Lancashire bowler records a wicket maiden for his first. He does get off the mark in Baldeson's next over as the visiting opening pair keep a tight rein on scoring in the early parts of this contest.  6 for 1 after 4.

By the start of the 6th Somerset have that on to thanks to a boundary from Lewis and a couple of wides from Bailey.  Archie is still not off the mark though he does manage to get a couple off Balderson's next to start his account for the morning.

Barnard brings spin into the game for the 10th over as the first 'Powerplay' is completed.  Goldsworthy is leading the batting fightback while Vaughan is operating presently in a supporting role.  With 10 gone Somerset have moved on to a modest 33 for 1 with Lewis on 18 and Archie on 7.  Bailey is contiinuing from the Pavilion with 30 fro his 6.

The Somerset 50 has to wait until after the MT end sees the start of Luke Hands' first spell with the ball.  It finally comes from the bat of Lewis Goldsworthy who comes up the wicket to Barnard in the 14th and sends the ball to the Hildreth stand to move his county to 53 for 1.  The 50 partnership also arrive in that over from 76 balls with Vaughan adding 21 and his partner 26.

Hands is bowling well and has only gone for 4 from his 2 overs as he starts the 17th.  The wicket looks to be a slow one again, or we are finding the Lancashire attack difficult to get away - as they have Marcus Harris in their batting line-up one hopes it is the former and not the latter!!  With 17 gone the home pair have moved the score to 64 for 1 with a far more equal scoring ratio between the two now as they both get more of a f'eel' of the wicket.

By the 20th over the Somerset men seem to have got the measure of the pitch and the attack and are both playing balls on their merits while punishing loose stuff.  They have moved on to 81 for 1 with Goldsworthy on 39 from 59 and Vaughan on 34 from 54 as Sutton comes on from the Pavilion.  The rate is not great but the base is now set and the job for the next 20 is to fight against the Lanky 'press' and move the score towards the upper 200s in order to allow acceleration in the last 10.  With 2 men now having both madea start one hopes that can happen without too much "loss of life" in terms of wickets!

It takes until the 25th over for more Somerset batting targets to be reached,  The first is the 100 coming up off a Sutton wide from the first ball.  The second is the 100 partnership arriving from 143 balls with the halfway point courtesy of a driven four through the covers from Lewis. It also takes the diminutive bat to 50 from 70 balls (5 fours) with his partner on 45 and the Somerset score up to 108 with 25 overs to go.  The Lancashire bowling has been steady and nagging but the two bats have moved the score along.  However there will be a need for an increase in scoring rates as the innings moves into its latter stages.  

To try and hold the acceleration back, the spin of Shetty is added to the visiting attack in the 26 over from the River.  Lewis seems to be ready to take on the attack a little more as he produces more aggressive strokes against the bowling of Sutton in the 27th.  It gets him and early four off a flashing top edge and gets the fielders on the boundaries moving a bit but for the moment it is more an indication of intent than an increase in the scoring rate.  We move to 119 for 1 after 27 as Lancashire try to keep the 'press' in place.

The only progress made in the next Shetty over is Archie progressing to 49  against tight spin bowling.  Balderson returns for the 29th to try and get a mistake from the young man but he completes his half ton with a single from his first ball to move to an 81 ball 50 with 3 fours.  It has needed concentrated hard work from these two and they have worked the ball around well to ove their side to 123 for 1.  Now we need to move to the second phase of the innings a seamlessly as possible.  Balderson is bowling well however with only 12 runs coming from his 5 overs so far.

Lewis  falls trying to go over one of Lancashire's taller fielders in bailey off the bowling of Shettay and the second sometrset wicket falls at 129 for 2 after exactly 30 overs .  He goes for 63 from 88 which is a commendable total (given that he arrived at 5 for 1 in the second over) that the guys following him in now need to build on.  129 for 2 as James Rew joins Archie in the middle with 20 overs to push this total up to something competitive which means thay have to at least double it!!

Shetty strikes again in the 32nd as he removes who shuffles forward to one and is stumped for 59 from 92 at 139.  He was just out of his crease and sharp work from Bell as one went past him got him before he got his bat down.  Thomas Rew strides out and Shetty will comeplete a fourth over that presently has him at 2 for 14.  He does that with a Rew forward defensive.

In the 34th over the young Lancashire spinner repeats the bowling that sent Vaughan back on the Somerset skipper who also comes down the strip to a ball he thinks he will hit only for it to drift down the side into the keeper's gloves and through the wicket before he can retreat.  James Rew also goes stumped to Shetty for 4 from 9 at 142 for 4.  Good deceptive spin bowling against a bat being frustrated into taking a risk.  

In comes Josh Thomas to a situation he should be getting used to in his limited first team career.  He is arriving with a decent total on the board with about 30% of the innings still remaing and a job to do to get another 100 plus runs to make a game of this.

Unfortunately this game he will have to do it without Thomas Rew who quite limply outside edges one to Bell at 146 for 5 and departs with 2 from his 6 (already a surprising score for the 17 year old after only 2 50 over games!!).  In comes Fin Hill with quite an ask this early in HIS career and an opportunity to get his name in dispatches in his second Metro game of the year.  Together the new pair move the score to 150 in the 37th off the bowling of Hands.

Shetty starts the 38th with figures of 3 for 21 from his 6 but we lose no more wickets as we move into the 39th.  The young spinner remains on and sees the innigs to its 40th with Thomas on 10 from 17 and Hill on 10 from 19.  Shetty boewls a maiden and Somerset are still not moving quickly at 162 for 5.  They could do with 10 and over from here but it is doubtful they will get that without risk and seeing more bats come to the middle.  The next man in is Kian Roberts on debut so it's an exciting but daunting task he sees awaiting him for sure.

Meanwhile, both Thomas and Hill seem to understand their roles as they both take boundaries from Hand in the 41st which means they achieve the 10 from the over from the first one of the 10 and move the score to 174 for 5.  Shetty may be a harder contest one would imagine as he comes in for his 9th and he shows that he is by only going for 5 from his six balls.

Balderson returns to try and keep the bats 'honest' which means restricting boundaries.  He does manage to do that until Josh simply powers him straight back to the pavilion boundary at the end of the over and the score moves to 186.  That four was needed but it is not enough in the grand scheme of this inninigs and we need a few more to get this total a significant way beyond the inadequate 200 mark.

Shetty bowls out in the 44th and finishes his spell with excellent figures of 3 for 34 in his 10.  A really good spell that his side needed and may be very grateful of later in this game.  A good prospect for sure for the red rose county.  192 for 5 with 6 overs left is below where we would like to be and Arav Shetty has certainly contributed to that position.

In the 45th the Somerset pair reach a 50 partnership with Thomas just ahead on the scoring rate with 28 to Fin's 22.  We also pass the 200 with exactly 5 overs to go.  

Barnard returns to start the move to the end of the innings.  He has 2 overs left while one expects that Bailey will bowl the other 3.  Hill goes inside out to the CA for four and then reverse sweeps the spinner to move the score past 210 to 212. Josh tries to send Balderson to the Somerset but is too high and not far enough and he departs for a run a ball 32 into the hands of Jones. 212 for 6 and out comes Kian Roberts with no real time to get a handle on the game, pace or pitch on debut.  He is off the mark with a pulled single and Hill is pushing him to go for two off the next ball.  Fin seems to be taking charge of this finish which is good to see.  

217 for 6 with 3 to come.  The objective for the new pair will be to score something off every ball they now face as the bare minimum.  The problem is that Lancashire will be happy to see them take a run a ball and will still think that they are in the driving seat with that as a score.  However, Hill is not satisfied with that and deposits Bernard into the gap between the Somerset and Hildreth twice for six to push the score to 232.  It moves the young allrounder to 48 from 46 balls as Bailey starts the 49th and he completes an excellent 50 from 49 balls at 236 with 3 fours and 2 sixes.

We asked for 10 and over from the last 5 and we have received 38 from the first 4 so something over 250 is possible as Sutton takes the last over.  He starts with a wide as Hill faces him.  His second goes for a single while the third sees Roberts cut him for another.  Hill then puts him into the CA carpark with a one bounce four and follows that with another single.  Two balls left in the innings and Roberts achieves the objective with a cover driven four to the Caddyshack to bring up the 250.  They try a ramp for the last but it goes to the keeper and Hill is run out trying to reach the single.  Excellent last segment work boyz.  

Somerset finish on 250 and leave Lancashire needing 251 to win.  Hill finishes with an impressive 57 from 53 and Roberts provided 11 from the 11 balls he faced.

The Reply

Alfie Ogborne takes the new ball against Micheal Jones and George Bell and with a couple of quite scratchy boundaries at the end of the over they start with 9 from the first.  Josh Davey takes the second and is his tight self going for a single only.  Alfie does the same in his second and it is only 12 by the end of the third.  Mr Davey then strikes as Jones gets one that pops up for him and he sends a 'false shot' to Archie Vaughan in the middle and Lancashire are 18 for 1 and in comes Australian Marcus Harris.

He settles in but the pace of the pitch is showing a slowness that Somerset found difficult to deal with and Lancashire  are not finding it all that different as after 9 overs they have moved on to 44 for 2 as with the 5th ball of the 8th over Bell Swings high wide and handsome at a ball from Ogborne  and deposits into the hands of Vaughan in front of the Somerset stand.  He goes for 21 from 29 balls.

At the end of the over, the catcher of the first two wickets comes on to bowl at the Pavilion end to finish off the 'Powerplay'.  He may be a very important bowler this afternoon but new man Bohannon has no respect and he fires him into the boundary with his second ball to get off the mark.  That sets up the move past 50 which  will have to wait for the 11th over as the first  'Powerplay' ends at 49 for 1 which is 16 runs ahead of where Somerset were at the same point in the game.

The 11th over sees Kian Roberts with the ball in his hands for the first time and the 50 arrives with a single from the first ball.  However he only concedes one more by the end and it is 51 for 2 after 11.  Bohannon is the next victim as Vaughan dives forward to a mistimed drive that is still in the air when it arrives at the bowler's hands and he takes his third catch to send the bat back for 5 from 11 at 51 for 3.  Harry Singh is the next man to the crease.  

With 15 overs gone, Marcus Harris may feel he has seen enough starts to move the score along.  We'd like to see the back of him as he takes a liking to Roberts and the score moves to 72 for 3. At the other end, Archie Vaughan is looking to hold the line as he has 1 for 14 from his first 4.  Singh has not been able to cut loose at all yet and has only congributed 3 to the overall total.

To expand the spin options, Lewis Goldsworthy takes the 17th at 77 for 3. Taking the pace off on this wicket seems to work so the slow men will all have a job of work to do today if Somerset are to win this one with Josh Thomas as the only one yet to be brought into the attack.  Lewis only conceded 1 from his first.

But it is Archie who keeps breaking through as he bowls Singh looking to play across the line and instead playing on to his stumps at 79 for 4.  He goes for 3 from 12 and that brings Balderson to the middle while Vaughan finishes his fifth with 2 for 15.

 Our slow men are tying them down as effectively as the visitors did before the break and they are struggling to find the boundary in the same way.  The double spin attack continues and both Lewis and Archie are making it very difficult for the Lancashire bats.  As we move to the 20 over point of reference, Lancashire are a mere 6 ahead but have lost 3 wickets more at the same stage as their opponents.

JT Langridge introduced for the 21st.  A welcome back to the young bowler who had a torrid time as a member of the 50 over side in 2023 and was then sidelined for most of 2024 with injury so this is his first chance to show the firsts how he has developed and progressed.  He is defintely taller and a little less 'willowy' in his later persona and he also has a bit of pace about him, hitting the low 80's mph in his first over.  They take 5 and move into the 90s with Harris looking ominous at 45 from 52 - while he is there this game is still in Lancashire's hands one would say.

Lancashire pass 3 figures in the next Langridge over as Balderson finds a way through the ring to reach the Ondaatje boundary and move the score to 102 for 4.  By the halfway point Somerset have re-introduced Josh Davey to bowl a lively 24th over in which Harris reaches and passes 50 from 61 balls with 4 fours and a six.  JT bowls his third and the score moves on to 'Nelson' for 4. 

Josh stays on to move the attack into the second half of this innings and how James marshalls his attack in this part of the game will probably decide the end result as he hasn't the usual people to bowl the usual bits as both Jake and especially Ben aren't in this game.  JT is continuing and it will be interesting to see if Somerset bowl him through or keep some of him back for the end.  How they use what is left of their slow men will also be interesting because they probably haven't got enough in the tank to allow these two to get away.  It's wickets that will probably decide this one however and Somerset need to take some if they are to get home, especially that of Harris.

Overs from Lewis and Alfie take us to the 30 over mark in the hope of a breakthrough or just to keep us in with a realistic chance.  They both do a fair job and nearly get the vital wicket as Harris misvcues one skyward but it falls over the infield and they take the singel. At 30 overs it is 144 for 4.  The rules say they double that but with 4 wickets down the rules don't always work so we shall have to see, Harris has 70 and Balderson has 30.  If one of these goes can the other help the tail take them home?  Hopefully from a Somerset point of view we will find out.  Alfie is absolutely convinced that Harris is out LBW in his next over but umpire Burns is not convinced, the only one who isn't in the ground I think!!  Ogborne is on his knees with his hands on his head.  146 for 4 at the end of the 31st.  Kasey is on the field because of a Josh Thomas finger injury which probably explains why he hasn't bowled.

The 150 arrives from the next Goldsworthy over and then we return to Archie for the 33rd.  Lancashire have reached a stage in the innings wherer they have been ahead of the scoring rate consistently but have lost more wickets.  From here on in that is not the case and they are ahead on both now.  They also seem to be looking to put the foot on the gas now as they move to 165 for 4 inthe 34th.  They need 86 from 100 balls and Somerset have to take wickets or the visitors will take the point in this one.  The equation is pretty stark.  if they let Harris pass 100 then this game is done and with that goes the Soemrset unbeaten record I'm afraid. 

With 15 overs left Harris is into the 90s and Lancashire have 176.  The 100 partnership has arrived  but there is also a glimmer of hope as Harris makes a mistake and on 96 from 99 balls he goes up the wicket drive Lewis through the covers, get under it and smacks the ball straight to Kiaran Roberts. 180 for 5 and this game may be back on as Shetty joins Balderson on 38 from 50.  This may be the young spinner's day as he did some damage with the ball and he now has the chance to do it with the bat as well.  

182 for 5 with 14 overs left as Archie bowls out with present figures of 2 for 36 from his 9.  H finishes with 2 for 2 for 41 - a very creditable effort from the young man.

Tom Lammonby comes on for his first with the 39th and he has Balderson swiping across the line but without result.  The lanks man does find the NT Boundary however to pass the 200 mark to 201 for 5 and Lancashire are 6 overs ahead in the scoring rate so the home side need scalps and they need them quite soon if they are to save this one.  Lewis keeps plugging away but the batting pair keep nurdling and nudging towards the total and the boundaries Somerset found so hard to get keep coming.  By the time there are 10 overs left Lancashire need a mere 38 to win while Somerset still need 5 wickets.  If you were a betting man then the money would be on the men from the North I'm sorry to say.

33 with 9 to go as Ogborne goes for 5.  JT gets a bit more hope as Shetty looks to pull him after cutting him for four.  But he gets under it and top edges it to the keeper for 18 from 16 and it is 225 for 6.  Out comes Sutton at the end of the 42nd and we are not quite dead yet.  25 from 48 still gives someret a slim chance of pulling this on back in with only 4 wickets left.  Balderson has 64 from 76 but is struggling to get it away at the moment  and is nearly run out taking a quick one at the end of the 43rd.  But he isn't and it is 228 for 6 as Langridge bowls to Balderson and he top edges on at 65 from 76 and James Rew gratefully takes the catch.  JT has 2 for 32 from his 5 and a bit and Lancashire are 228 for 7 needing 23 from the 42 balls left.  You'd still put your money on Lancashire but you might not be as sure that you would get a return now as you were.

Sutton on 2 and the new man Hands have the job to do to make the trip back up the motorway a little more fun.  17 from 36 is the new requirement with 3 wickets in hand as Alfie bowls out.  He fires in two yorkers on the toes of Sutton at the start of the over, gives him a single and then fires in another to Hands.  A wide lets the pressure off a little and he knows it but the next one is back on target.  He finishes with 1 for 41 and a good days bowling work.

5 overs to go and they need 15.  Who is going to bowl these then? JT will bowl the next  and he will probably bowl all the even ones if they need to be done, 46, 48 and 50.  However, at the end of the 46th with only 11 needed he may not be requried for all of those.  At the other end - the River end - Josh Davey should come back on as he has only bowled 6 and lo and behold he does.  It's a decent statement to make that he has not been bowled out because the other guys have mostly done their jobs and taken wickets at times when he would probably have been called back into the attack so whatever way this goes the bowling has held up to the taask to a great extent and should be pretty happy with its performance.  Nevertheless he needs to take a wicket and he bowls Hand for 4 from 8 as I type this with 9 required, spearing one into the off stump!! Bailey walk out at 242 for 8 needing 9 for the win and 8 for the tie with 21 balls remaining.  Money would still be on Lancashire but the bums will be squeeking in the visitor's dressing room. 

Bailey gets off the mark and off the strike.  Lancashire move to 244 with 18 balls left.  7 runs or 2 wickets needed as JT comes in.  The ball slips out of his hand and the resulting 'beamer' is called a no ball as Sutton takes evasive action.  His next is an excellent bouncer which the bat misses. They take 1 off the next to make it a boundary to win but they seem to want to get them in singles as the sprint one.  3 left from 13 balls, another single and we go into the penultimate over with 2 needed.

Josh spends an age setting his field at 249 for 8, a misfield ties the game and they win it with a cover drive  from the 4th ball of the 49th.  Lancs win a close fought game by 2 wickets in the last but one over.

A good game.  Archie Vaughan, Lewis Goldsworthy and Fin Hill batted well.  Most of the bowling was there or there abouts.  Vaughan, Davey and Langridge all took two byuyt we probably suffered from not pushing hard enough in the second half of our innings and then not getting rid of Harris earlier - we probably would have shaved this one had that decision for Alfie gone the other way.  We were second best today but not by all that much and now we have blooded everyone in the squad one has to say we have a decent set of players to carry this campaign on and we will not be easy to beat.

The next game is Yorkshire at York next Thursday - wonder when Somerset last played a game at York!!

Metro 50 Game 3 v Lancashire at Taunton

Discussion started by Grockles.com , 10/08/2025 11:06

Grockles.com
10/08/2025 11:06

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2025:08:16:11:53:43 by Grockle.

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cricketjerry-mouse
09/08/2025 13:55

Australian Test batsman Marcus Harris will captain Lancashire when they start a succession of four away Metro One-Day Cup matches at Taunton tomorrow. Luke Hands and Joe Moores, two Academy players who signed short-term contracts this week, are included in this 14-man squad:

Harris (c), Bailey, Balderson, Barnard, Bell, Bohannon, Fonseka, Hands, Jones, Moores, Shetty, Singh, Sutton, Williams.

Somerset rest Ben Green and Jake Ball tomorrow, but add Kian Roberts and James Theedom (yet another who bats left-handed and bowls right - see earlier threads) to their 15-man squad, as well as Migael Pretorius, Josh Davey, Jack Leach and James Langridge.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2025:08:09:14:31:30 by cricketjerry-mouse.

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sfwithers
09/08/2025 16:19

Blimey, I think I'd only recognise a few of the team!

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Grockle
10/08/2025 10:14

I think this will be the first game Lancs will have played in the 50 as their game against the Steelbacks was abandoned. Did they play on Friday?

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GuildfordWyvern
10/08/2025 10:43

Davey plays, as do Roberts and Langridge.

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Grockle
10/08/2025 11:24

No BBC coverage of this one it seems. But quite a bold statement of intent by Somerset is going for a young bowling attack with only the experience of Josh to help it work. Good to see though a bit of trepidation as well as we are setting the target for this one.

We'll see how it goes.

As usual, the frontpage thread is closed until the completion of the game and then will be merged with the comments made here during the day. Though the frontpage will be upgarded as the game takes shape as |I am doing this one from my setee again with a pirate patch over my left eye as it is now like looking through the top of a glass of water with the upper edge clear and the rest as 'wobbly' as can be!! I'm hoping to be back live for the game next Friday but with an eyball full of gas I can't drive or fly until after the surgeons have had a look next Monday and have given me their prognosis. Ho Hum!!

Lammonby gone early and Somerset 21 for 1 at the start of the 8th!!

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Grizzers
10/08/2025 13:10

Strangely somnolent atmosphere so far, perhaps matching the strip.

We’ve certainly struggled to put bat to ball and have plenty of work to do to post a competitive score.

Good bowling by Lancs., particularly the young spinner Shetty.

Grizzers

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Grockle
10/08/2025 13:12

Yep he's bowled well hasn't he? This game is in the hands of a young middle order now with the acceleration in the hands of Thomas, Hill and Roberts... it'll be interesting to see how they cope with moving this on by 100 runs in about 13.

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GuildfordWyvern
10/08/2025 13:28

Only 10 boundaries in the first 40 overs.

Shetty has been excellent and Hands quite an effort for a 16 year old.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:08:10:15:59:41 by GuildfordWyvern.

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cricketjerry-mouse
10/08/2025 14:05

Surprising that the few senior players in the Somerset XI haven`t told the youngsters that you can actually move out of your crease and down the wicket it you are having trouble hitting the ball off the square.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:08:10:14:06:40 by cricketjerry-mouse.

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Somerset LaLaLa
10/08/2025 14:06

Defendable score, we need to be able to be able to bowl teams out to progress in the competition, as well as chase runs. Let's see which bowler will shine...

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sfwithers
10/08/2025 15:38

Mmm, three down for 77 with an experienced batter in - could go either way, he says somewhat obviously...

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Somerset LaLaLa
10/08/2025 17:51

Sloppy fielding and a dropped catch at the end didn't help

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Sloop John B
10/08/2025 18:33

Neither did a howler from umpire Burns!

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Grizzers
10/08/2025 18:37

Felt we lacked a bit of experience and nous at times today. We got bogged down with the bat and despite the encouraging endeavours of our young bowlers, defending 250 at Taunton was always going to be a struggle.

Our fielding was somewhat scratchy at times, including, unfortunately, behind the stumps.

Some positives from the game, including Hill and Thomas batting well down the order.

But with (I believe) Pretorius and Leach both available, shouldn’t at least one of them have played ?

Grizzers

P.S. Well done to the club for a terrific family day atmosphere.

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cricketjerry-mouse
10/08/2025 18:38

Although Somerset went without even a single stroke of good fortune today, it must be admitted they looked tired in the filed after three matches in six days. Lancashire, on the other hand, were playing their first - not really their fault though, as the first had been rained off.

Strange also for Somerset to rest Jack Leach for two matches running on a bowler-friendly Taunton wicket.

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Bagpuss
10/08/2025 21:34

Over 6,500 in the ground today - apparently a record for Somerset for a one day cup match post-Covid and after the advent of the hundred. Credit to the club for all the work they've put in to make each of the four home matches an event in their own right. Spoke to some travelling Lancashire supporters and they were impressed.

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Farmer White
10/08/2025 23:39

It would be difficult to overestimate the success of today, and, as Bagpuss says, the amount of work which must have gone into the preparation and the management of the day. A parent of young children I spoke to on my way back to my car was hugely impressed by the arrangements made for children at the ground, and also that they, not usually a cricket spectator, had heard about the event from their employer through information sent out by the Club.

It was just a tremendous day out, the cricket, the atmosphere, the sight of so many people of all ages just hugely enjoying themselves, and, at the end of it all, caught up in the excitement of the cricket.

As it was designated a children's Fun Day I think the Club should award themselves a gold star.

Farmer

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Mike TA1
11/08/2025 09:56

Not a very satisfactory batting performance, a friend said you want to win, you play your strongest team.
Somerset v Lancashire match photos. (what there are of them).


Josh Thomas 4 runs


George Bell ct Archie Vaughan bld Alfie Ogborne


Fin Hill 4 runs


Archie Vaughan


Arav Shetty ct James Rew bld James Langridge – the ball can be seen near the top of the photo.

The selectors need to reflect on what they are doing.

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ColinNo11
11/08/2025 12:01

Like others, I applaud the club for the way yesterday was organised. The 100 lot make much of their aim of drawing in a wider demographic to cricket; yesterday proved that more traditional cricket can achieve that aim at least as well.

Both teams had a blend of youth and experience. The difference between the teams seemed to me to be Harris's innings and the bowling of Shetty (who also added valuable runs towards the end). I thought our young players held up pretty well. Hill and Thomas managed to inject a bit of urgency into our innings after the rather slow Vaughan / Goldsworthy partnership. Our bowlers did OK defending a below par total and, had a couple of catches - one pretty easy - been taken, we might well have won. All in all, I found it encouraging for the future.

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